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Atticus: Old Etonian George was a dustman, so Plebgate’s binned

Roland White

October 21 2012, 1:01am, The Sunday Times

There’ll be no embarrassing incidents with the plebeian class now that Sir George Young has taken over as government chief whip. He might be a 6th baronet and an Old Etonian but Young must be one of the few Tories to have worked as a dustman.

When he was a councillor in Lambeth, south London, the council’s dustmen went on strike: the refuse collectors simply refused to collect. So Young and his fellow councillors hired some lorries and emptied the bins themselves at weekends.

“It was an eye-opening experience that taught me a lot about my neighbours,” he says.

Clearing up other people’s mess — perhaps the ideal preparation for his new role.